Storm assistant Nancy Darsch leaving team

An assistant to coach Brian Agler the past six seasons, Darsch said it was a mutual agreement to not return to Seattle in 2014. She’s going to use the offseason to really recover from a surgical procedure she had in March and mourn the death of her brother, who died in May.

“It was a tough summer for me personally as well as physically,” Darsch said. “It’s time to step away. From now until March, I don’t have any responsibilities. But I’d definitely be interested in talking to some teams if they were interested and if things came available.”

Darsch began her WNBA career as the inaugural coach for New York, leading the Liberty to the first WNBA Finals. She spent two seasons with New York before coaching the Washington Mystics for two seasons, then becoming a scout there. She was an assistant for the Minnesota Lynx (2003-05) and joined the Storm in 2008.

Before the WNBA, Darsch coached Ohio State for 12 years and was an assistant with the USA women’s basketball team from 1984 to 1996.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @JaydaEvans. Jayda Evans covers college and pro women's basketball. She offers observations, critiques, occasional off-beat tales and answers to select e-mail inquiries. Evans also has written a book on the Storm and women's hoops, called "Game On!"